


a fate better deserved.

by heylins



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, M/M, adam deserved better, but at least not half of a gay couple, well not nobody
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-12
Updated: 2018-08-12
Packaged: 2019-06-26 03:12:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15654588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heylins/pseuds/heylins
Summary: i'm bitter about season 7.





	a fate better deserved.

There were strings from Earth still attached to him. They were still burning red, tightly wound around his heart and pulling at him, yearning for him to turn back. They had been there all that time, for years now, and no matter how much the tightness dulled it was still evident to him.

He always felt that he was good enough at keeping his emotions in check, carefully tucking them in under facades he had learned to put up and steel. Being a pilot, a gladiator, a prisoner: it all led to defensive measures he never knew he could muster. And yet, here he was, steeling himself once again as the red strings tightened around his heart.

Earth. Home. A warzone.

Adam.

He hadn't discussed Adam to the other paladins since this entire journey began. Keith knew of him, was familiar with him from back in the Garrison, but the other three hadn't been clued in. Their newly found Altean allies certainly didn't know. It was never relevant, really, so why bring it up? But keeping the facade up now, as Earth grew closer and closer, was becoming slightly difficult. Especially as the other paladins (sans Keith, the pilot) spoke of their families back on the planet they inched closer to.

It probably wasn't the worst time to tell them, given they were sharing cramped quarters. Galra fighters were small things, barely big enough to fit well under their current head-count. They were practically sitting on one another. If there was a decent time to tell them all at once, it would be then.

But, maybe it wasn't worth bringing up at all.

_Maybe he was --_

"Hey, Shiro. You're bein' really quiet over there, are you okay?"

Shiro blinked, straightening up and focusing on the group of people around him. Several eyes were now on him. The facade was up, and he knew, but it was still uncomfortable. His throat felt just a twinge too tight, "Yeah. Just a lot to think about, I guess. Thanks, Hunk, don't worry about me."

A couple of the faces looked a little more concerned. Maybe the wall wasn't up high enough? Hunk spoke up again, "If you're thinking about something, you can talk to us about it, you know?"

He didn't have an immediate response. Maybe it was relevant. Maybe it was time. Maybe he wasn't there (he said he wouldn't be), but did that really matter?

"I -- I was thinking about someone," he started out, his voice somewhat softer now, "Someone from home."

Pidge quickly leaned a bit closer, a glint of curiosity in her eyes, "Someone waiting for you?"

The string wrapped tighter, a twinge of pain. She immediately withdrew at the face Shiro impulsively made, "Or... not?"

"I can't be sure. I really don't know if he is... There are a -- hm, few reasons for that, actually," he leaned back a little, looking up at the ceiling of the fighter. Alien lighting, that which had become strangely familiar over time, glowed and washed over all of them. This wasn't what he meant by putting himself at risk. This wasn't what anyone had anticipated.

"His name is Adam."

\---

Allura had been right about many things, but the one fact clearly on his mind could never be understated: the Galra were ruthless.

He knew that, he had known that for so many years. Now, though, seeing the destruction to their home? It was intense and palpable. The brute force, the unwavering dedication to violence and pain, it was all thrown at a planet that had no chance of stopping it. He had been on the receiving end of it himself, and yet this example all around them was enough to make him feel like that experience, his experience, was insignificant.

"This is it, up here," Griffin finally broke the silence in the vehicle. Shiro saw it coming up: a large particle barrier through which he could see a massive structure.

The Garrison.

It was different now. It had always been a beautiful structure, shining with hope for the future of those in its walls, but now it radiated so much more. And there was a certain wash of sadness coming over him as he saw it. This is it, he thought, the last fortress of Earth. Hidden behind a particle barrier, barely visible through the orange refracted light that protected it, was the one corner of Earth protected from the Galra.

Minutes passed as the silently drove through the layered barriers and down the paved path. It was a welcome respite from the previous rocking and rolling over the destroyed roads outside the barrier. His stomach settled slightly. He couldn't make out anyone's face in the group they drove closer to.

Closer, closer. Still no Adam. The facade came back with a single hard swallow. The car stopped, and he was out.

He could not deny that there was a sense of joy, even bittersweet, to see Lance and Pidge reunite with their families. Joyous tears and happy sobs rang out as they embraced one another. The silver lining was in front of him, hope for the younger ones and their future with their families. And yet, there he was. And there was Hunk, also standing alone, scanning the area for a family not there to meet him. Bittersweet turned into bile on his tongue.

He rested his hand on Hunk's shoulder, "Don't worry," he said, quietly. Hunk hummed a small noise of acceptance. Shiro could see the shine in his eyes. Empathy told him that they stung as the watered, but they never overflowed.

They were all good at putting up their own facades.

\---

Time passed and debriefing came closer. The happiness radiating from Lance and Pidge was comforting, but still hard to swallow. Too much sugar mixed with the sting of his fears of what had happened before they arrived made a concoction he could not easily drink. He knew he had to be there to be strong, be the leader, but even that was bearing down on him.

So, he broke away.

A bathroom break, a quick meal, and excuse was good enough to just stand alone and clear his head. The Castle of Lions provided private shelter, a room where he could simply sit and think when he got caught up in his mind, but the last leg of their journey had given him no such relief. Just a minute was all he needed. Just a chance to breathe.

The Garrison halls were familiar, but also new all at once. New technology was everywhere, systems capable of holding off a Galra invasion that they thought was so much farther away. Rooms filled with years of growth and change that he wasn't here to see. Was Adam here to see it? The strings twisted, causing him to grip at his chest. They were easily fired up, it seems, during the last handful of hours.

A soft light caught his eye, some room of sorts just down the hall. As he approached it, it slowly revealing itself as a half-circle, a small section carved out of the wall and holding hundreds of plaques. They were names, and faces, and dates.

A memorial for the dead. Those that gave their life to fight the Galra since they invaded.

For the first time since he entered the Garrison, his feet moved quickly. Up against the wall, his eyes scrambled over the names. He looked at each face. Some looked familiar, enough to hurt, but they weren't the one he sought.

_Please._

He heard footsteps behind him. He didn't turn around.

_Please don't be here!_

The footsteps stopped. He felt eyes on the back of his head. He still didn't turn around.

"So, you are back. I figured that was just a sick joke."

Adam.

His eyes stopped, landing on a perfect stranger that he had never known. A name he would never recognize. That voice sliced through the air, slamming into his back and holding him there. He felt terrible for the face he landed on. But the one he was looking for, he knew, was right behind him.

He regained composure, straightening his back and looking over his shoulder. And there he was.

"Adam."

"Takashi."

They stood there in silence for a moment. Adam's glasses reflected a glare back into his eyes, obscuring that face that Shiro had wanted to see since he landed. Shiro turned around fully, shoes squeaking on the tile beneath him, "You're alive."

"I am," he reached up, adjusting his glasses. It did nothing for the glare, unfortunately, "You are as well. Surprisingly."

"Adam, I --," he stepped forward. Adam immediately tensed, and Shiro stopped. Silence again. The strings weren't tightening now, he felt them unraveling. Faster and faster, they fell and pooled and sat in his stomach like steel, "I'm sorry."

Adam turned his head away, the glare finally leaving to reveal eyes that refused to look at him, "Don't you need to go back to your little space friends?"

"My -- My what?"

"I have to go. You're probably needed for debriefing."

With a sharp turn and squeak of his own shoes, he was gone. Shiro watched him, listened to him walk down the hall, to the right, and out of view. Seconds passed. Minutes, possibly. What could he do? What could he say to him?

_That's not important right now._

And, with that final thought, Shiro quickly returned to where he was needed. Put up the facade. Be the leader. Follow through with the mission.

Worry about a bitter ex later.

**Author's Note:**

> i don't know if i'll finish it, but even if i don't, at least adam doesn't die in a damn fighter jet with 6 lines to his name.
> 
> anyway, first voltron fic. and i'm really rusty at fic writing apparently, since i haven't done any in ages. sorry, folks. i'll try to finish this! we're gonna rescue hunk's family and we're gonna get adam to help us! and he's gonna be a bitter gay like myself the entire time. since voltron didn't give him a proper character, i'll give him one my damn self.


End file.
